


I see your hurt

by salvatorestjohn



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s01e03 We're Being Punked Pedro, F/M, Lizzie Saltzman Needs a Hug, Protective Kaleb Hawkins, based on that one scene, you know the one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:21:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22406374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salvatorestjohn/pseuds/salvatorestjohn
Summary: "Come on, Saltzman!" Connor shouts, still grinning from ear-to-ear with pride. "It was just a bit of fun! It even makes you look hotter!"Anger flares in Kaleb and he turns on him faster than Connor can blink, fisting a hand roughly in his stupid letterman jacket."Don't talk to her like that, you hear me?" he warns him, staring him in the eyes.
Relationships: Kaleb Hawkins/Lizzie Saltzman
Kudos: 36





	I see your hurt

The whole thing happens in slow motion and yet in the blink of an eye at the same time. One minute Kaleb's chuckling at the joke that Lizzie makes, and then there's a milkshake flying at her. No one moves for a moment. Kaleb and MG both stare at her in shock, while she just stands there, the pink liquid dripping from her hair, down her clothes. She doesn't speak. She just stares at Connor, her mouth open, as if she already expected so little of him and yet is somehow still in disbelief that he would do it.

Then snickers start up from Connor's friends. None of them even try and hide it, clearly only wanting to add to the humiliation. Connor joins in and Lizzie's face falls, the reality hitting her in one blow. She quickly closes her mouth, pressing her lips into a thin line as a muscle in her jaw tenses.

Kaleb notices her eyes shining, but she's already storming off before anyone can speak. He stares after her as she heads back down the street.

"Lizzie, wait!" MG calls after her, trying to get her to stop, but she doesn't slow. 

"Let her go," Dana says, her tone quickly turning coy as she steps towards him. "It's more fun without her, don't you think?"

MG pauses, turning to her. He eyes her as if he's seeing her for the first time and isn't so keen on it, shaking his head.

"Come on, Saltzman!" Connor shouts, still grinning from ear-to-ear with pride. "It was just a bit of fun! It even makes you look hotter!"

Anger flares in Kaleb and he turns on him faster than Connor can blink, fisting a hand roughly in his stupid letterman jacket.

"Don't talk to her like that, you hear me?" he warns him, staring him in the eyes.

He watches them shift and glaze over, but he brushes it off as just the shock. If a bit of compulsion slips into his voice, he doesn't notice.

"You're gonna leave her the hell alone from now on," he says. "That goes for all of you."

His eyes dart across the rest of Connor's groupies, making sure they get the message. Regret flashes across more than one face and he's satisfied that it's working for the most part as he even receives a couple of nods. 

"Come on," Connor says, addressing his friends even as he keeps hold of Kaleb's stare. His lip curls and he seems to snap out of his daze. "Don't want these losers to _sue_ us because they don't have a sense of humour."

Kaleb shakes his head. It's really taking everything in him not to throw a punch, knowing he could probably snap his jaw. 

"Yeah, assault's hilarious." He opens his mouth to retort, but Kaleb shoves him back, letting go of his shirt. "Just get out of here."

Connor seems a little too eager to oblige, even if he hesitates for a moment longer once he steadies himself, straightening out his jacket with far too much theatrics. He glances from him to MG, who looks uncertain of what to do, then motions for his friends to follow him. 

He turns and stalks away in a huff. Dana lingers behind, stepping close to MG with that smirk still on her lips, apparently unfazed.

"See you later, cutie," she says, resting her hand on his chest for a moment before she turns on the spot and strides after them. 

Kaleb looks over at him. MG just gives a helpless gesture. He brushes it off as he throws a glance in the opposite direction. 

"I'm gonna go and find Lizzie," Kaleb decides.

"But—but we can't leave," MG tries to protest, waving a hand pointlessly at the window of graffiti. "We're already in enough trouble as it is."

"Do I look like I care?" Kaleb asks, his brow furrowing. "Are you coming with me or not?"

MG falters, his eyes moving between him and the window again as he clearly tries to think. Kaleb rolls his eyes and walks away before he can make up his mind. No footsteps follow him. Part of him is annoyed, because MG really needs to throw the rule book away every now and then, and not just for some game, but part of him is also glad. If he finishes cleaning off the graffiti and maybe tries to finish faster, Dorian might not even have to know that Kaleb skipped out. 

He glances left and right as he walks a little faster than he usually does, checking all around him. There are a couple of yellow uniforms scattered around him, working away at their own designated task. A few others just walking through town. At least there's no sign of any more letterman jackets.

Deciding to take the risk, he taps into what little blood he has in him at the moment and speeds out of sight, his ears picking up snippets of conversations and familiar voices mixed with unfamiliar ones. It really doesn't take as long as he thought it would before he catches the sound of crying. 

He vamps around the corner and stops a few feet behind her. She doesn't seem to notice, still walking down the street with intent and yet seemingly no direction.

"Lizzie," he calls after her and hurries to catch up. "Hey—wait a second."

Lizzie throws him a brief glance over her shoulder, but it's enough for him to catch a glimpse of her already red-rimmed eyes and the tears still falling for them. His stomach does a somersault and that urge to go after Connor flares back up. This is more important, though. Her expression quickly goes through a flood of emotions, landing on annoyance before she whips back around.

"Leave me alone," she says, her voice tight, and he can hear it breaking as she doesn't quite manage to stop crying. "I have already had enough people laughing at me today, okay, so can you please just go do it somewhere else?"

"Hey—" Kaleb falls into step beside her for a second before turning around and stopping her in her tracks, "—I didn't come after you to make fun of you. I came to...see if you're okay."

Lizzie scoffs, and he can't help but notice she won't look at him, and when she does, her eyes narrow as if not buying a single word that comes out of his mouth. "Please. I don't need a freaking pity party."

"I'm not—"

"Kaleb, please just leave me alone!" she cuts him off, her voice rising as her hands fly out at her sides as if to push him away. "I'm about three seconds away from having a breakdown, and it's taking all of my strength not to cause some—magical explosion that would probably just hurt someone, so—I don't need you here to make me feel even worse about myself right now, or else I would have just stood there and let Connor keep laughing at me."

The tears are still falling as she blinks rapidly. Kaleb can't find it in himself to get indignant like he usually would in an argument with her, but actually softens instead. Because this isn't right, she's never like this when they argue or challenge each other. He hates this, and for once, he doesn't want to push her or rile her up.

"Look, they're assholes, alright?" he says, shaking his head. "You just can't let them get to you."

"Easy for you to say," Lizzie snaps, but at least she's looking him in the eyes now. "You're not the one who just had a freaking milkshake thrown at you and then were laughed at in the middle of town."

She brushes past him, trying to storm away again, but he follows despite his better instincts. 

"Lizzie, can you just stop for a second?"

"Why?" She spins back around. She gestures at herself as he stops walking. "So that I can be seen having a public meltdown? As if I'm not already this town's resident lunatic who everyone gets a kick out of laughing at. I can't—I can't take this anymore, it's—I feel like my head is going to explode, and I don't wanna hurt someone, Kaleb, I—"

His eyes widen as her voice goes quiet, and there it is. The something not right. She shakes her head, her bottom lip wobbling as she tries to take in a deep breath, but she's shaking all over. 

"I don't want to hurt anyone," she whispers, her voice breaking in the middle.

Kaleb moves without thinking. Lizzie doesn't stop him as he steps closer to her, his hands moving to her shoulders.

"Hey, hey, no," he says softly, holding her stare. "No, Lizzie, you're not—you're not gonna hurt anyone. You just—you need somewhere quiet to chill, that's all. To clear your head, yeah?"

She sucks in another breath, trying to steady herself. It doesn't work; Kaleb can feel her practically vibrating beneath his palms, and he can't help but wonder if it's the thrum of magic, burning through his hands like it always down with witches, or if it's because she was right and is about two seconds away from releasing all that magic in a tsunami. Or just because of how terrified she looks. 

She nods, silently agreeing with him, and he nods back. He offers a small smile, trying to keep her calm.

"Okay, okay." He quickly glances around. His eyes lock onto a building across the street. "You should get cleaned up. Let's go into the Grill, you can clean this off with a spell or whatever in the bathroom, and it'll give you time to calm down properly. Okay?"

Lizzie glances across the street then gives another shaky nod. "Okay. Yeah."

They cross over to the other side of the street, heading for the Grill. Kaleb keeps a hand on her back the entire way but lets it fall when they walk through the doors. The place is fairly quiet; it usually is, but there are few enough people for this to not be a bad idea. 

They make their way through the room, and Kaleb makes a gesture for Lizzie to wait a second before he ducks over to the bar.

"Hey, Damon—alright if we use the back bathroom for a minute?" he asks.

Damon lifts his head to look at him, meeting his hopeful stare with raised eyebrows. There's a twitch at the corners of his mouth.

"You gonna buy anything?" he asks, leaning his hands on the bar. "Because, you know, you can't just bring your _friends_ in here to hide out in the bathroom because it's convenient. This is a respectable establishment, not the local hook-up spot for you kids."

Kaleb knows him well enough by now to know that he's mostly joking. It's not the first time he's done it, and it's a fun back-and-forth that his aunt Bonnie hates and constantly tells Damon off for. Still, he's a little distracted, so he barely musters up a chuckle.

"Uh, sure, I'll buy something," he says, genuine. "But can I do it when we're heading back out?"

Damon's eyebrows furrow, confused now. His eyes flick over to his left, finally seeking out the other person in the _we_ Kaleb keeps using. His expression changes upon seeing Lizzie. He straightens a little, noticing the state of her with concern. Shaking, covered from the waist up in bright pink milkshake, and trying to discreetly wipe at her eyes.

He sets his mouth in a line then looks back at Kaleb, the humour gone.

"Go ahead," he says, softer now, motioning his head in her direction. "But ten minutes tops, okay? I don't need another lecture, and I'm not risking my ass with Bonnie because of you."

Kaleb smiles a little at that and nods back, even if somewhat sarcastically. "Ten minutes. Promise."

Damon doesn't look convinced. Kaleb walks away, moving over to Lizzie as she chews on her bottom lip, her arms folded around herself. She doesn't say anything, the question in her expression, and he gives her the all-good. He directs her to the bathroom in the back, giving Damon another little grateful nod as they pass by the bar. 

Lizzie walks into the bathroom while he hangs back. She leaves the door open as she moves over to the sinks as he leans in the doorway, folding his arms. She doesn't seem to mind, surprisingly, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Ugh, this is so gross," she says, pulling some of her hair out to the side, the milkshake clumping it together in a literal strawberry-blonde mess. Her face contorts in disgust at it in the mirror. "It's one thing to laugh at me and try and humiliate me, but to ruin my hair? And—I like this outfit! I hate Connor."

"Don't worry, I don't think he's gonna make the mistake of messing with you again," Kaleb says.

Lizzie pauses, hair still in hand, meeting his eyes in the mirror. Her stare narrows slightly, suspicion flickering across her face. 

"Why?" she asks. "What did you do?"

He feigns confusion, deciding it best to play innocent. She is still Dr Saltzman's daughter after all, and he doesn't really feel like getting into trouble for something that he didn't even really mean to do. At least, he didn't initially intend to do it. 

"Why do you think I did something?" he asks, throwing offence into his voice. "It was just a general statement. Who's to say MG didn't do something to him? He's the one who's head-over-heels for you after all."

Lizzie rolls her eyes and scoffs. "Please, he is not in love with me. He's trying to hide the fact that he's been crushing on Josie since the day he got here; he literally told me that when I confronted him about being weird around me. I've just been helping him keep up his charade."

Kaleb blinks and tries not to act surprised. There's a possibility that he wasn't aware of that. MG always has brushed off the topic of Lizzie, though, now that he really thinks about it. And he just kind of thought that the reason he got weird and smiley every now and then was because Lizzie was around. Except when he looks back, so was Josie. _Huh._ Interesting. That would have been good to know sooner. 

"Plus, I saw Dana there and there's no way she wasn't all over him as soon as I left. So, I ask again: what did you do to Connor?" Lizzie repeats, now turning her head to properly look at him. 

He shrugs, but she doesn't back down, her stare piercing his eyes. She'd make a good vampire. 

"Just a little harmless compulsion, alright?" he confesses, knowing she wasn't going to let it go anytime soon, and he doesn't need Lizzie Saltzman on his back trying to figure out his secrets. "It was an accident anyway, so relax. Probably didn't even work anyway since I'm not even close to full strength."

Lizzie just stares at him, her surprise evident. She clearly tries to hide it, tilting her head up a little, but her eyes linger, her brow furrowing the tiniest bit with a subtle crease. Even covered in milkshake, it's kinda cute. He's relieved when the guilt at thinking it doesn't come for once, because apparently he isn't betraying his best friend and had nothing to feel bad about in the first place. 

"How did you accidentally compel him?" she questions. "I mean, I know how it can happen without you meaning to do it, obviously, but you'd have had to be saying something to him in the first place for it to have happened at all."

Kaleb's beginning to wish he had stayed at the bar and talked to Damon while Lizzie got cleaned up. She turns back to the mirror at least, now pulling gently at her clothes with that same grossed-out look on her face. She's stopped crying, Kaleb realizes, looking at her eyes in the mirror. It hadn't been obvious to him before, but the tears have stopped, just leaving behind a slight redness and a couple blotches on her face.

"Does it even matter?" he asks, shrugging it off again. "He's an asshole. I told him that. Sure I'm not the first one either."

Lizzie hums and he catches her glance at him again in the mirror. Her expression gives almost nothing away except for a slight twitch at the corners of her lips. Something he's pretty sure that he shouldn't be noticing anyway, because now she's doing that typical smirk-smile thing she always does but with a sort of softer touch to it, and he's _still staring_. 

"Okay," she says, but there's something about the way that she does that makes him uneasy. Their eyes meet for a moment but then she's sighing and turning her gaze back on herself with a determined expression. "Right. Time to fix this."

She takes a step back, holds her hands out, then moves them in a flicking motion toward her hair while muttering that language that Kaleb's never quite gotten the hang of. Her hair immediately seems to be drenched in water without a drop of it actually touching her. 

Kaleb blinks, impressed. He usually is when it comes to magic, to be honest, though letting the witches know that usually only inflates their egos so he doesn't bother. 

"There we go," she says, smiling in the mirror, not a trace of the milkshake left in her hair. "Now, just..."

She gives another wave of her hand, only using one this time. There's a whoosh of air that appears out of seemingly nowhere, and her hair dries up immediately, fluffing out and curling over her shoulders. She hurries to sweep it all out of the way of the sticky pink patches on her clothes, wrapping it up in a quick, messy style at the back of her head. 

"There." She drops her hands, holding them out as she stares in the mirror for a moment with a bright grin, then turns to him. "That looks okay, doesn't it?"

Kaleb's thrown by her asking him, his lips parting in surprise, but he nods. "Yeah. Yeah, you look—it looks good."

She's already spinning back around, her head tilting at her reflection. Her hands pull carefully at the straps of her dungarees as she gives a thoughtful little hum, more than likely trying to figure out how exactly to fix her clothes. He has a feeling that the same spell isn't going to work.

"Alright, let's give this a try..." she mutters, her eyes narrowing. 

With another strange motion of her hands, she utters the words to a different incantation. Kaleb actually does have to blink this time. The milkshake stains quickly start to get smaller as it literally seems to be drawn out of her clothes, the pink liquid following her hand as she moves it to hover over the sink. It collects in a strange ball of milkshake that jiggles and looks like it wants to break away. Within seconds, her outfit is completely clean and stain free. 

"The hell kind of spell is that?" he can't help but ask, eyeing the ball of milkshake warily as Lizzie grins. 

"Just one that collects liquids," she says, shrugging it off despite the proud look on her face.

She spreads her fingers and the milkshake suddenly drops into the sink. It splatters slightly, but then it immediately swirls down the drain. Every single drop of it. Kaleb breathes out a noise of amazement, because, alright, magic is impressive to him. And Lizzie makes it look so easy yet completely unique to how everyone else does it, and he has no idea how but he likes it.

"Okay," Lizzie says again, drawing herself up tall as she smooths her hands down over the front of her clothes. "I think we're all good."

"You sure?" he asks, tilting his head.

She turns to him, her eyebrows furrowing in obvious confusion at the question. He still can't help noticing the redness around her eyes.

"Maybe just take another minute or two," he suggests, shrugging. "Just to really clear your head, y'know? You were pretty upset out there."

Lizzie's face drops a little at the reminder. For a moment, Kaleb worries that he just put his foot in it, expecting another snapping remark from her. But she doesn't look angry or annoyed. She just shakes her head, taking in a deep breath. 

"I think I'm okay, at least for now," she says, folding her arms around herself. "I no longer feel like I'm about to explode, so there's that, at least. And I refuse to give them any further satisfaction. It was one milkshake."

Kaleb isn't so sure that she's as unbothered by it as she now seems to be. Something about the tone of her voice and the fact that he just saw her on the verge of a total breakdown barely five minutes ago. The image of her crying, her voice breaking like that, how different she was from what he's used to—it's stuck in his head.

Lizzie sighs, and he guesses something must show on his face. She steps closer, raising her eyebrows a little as she looks him in the eyes.

"Look, I don't know why you came after me or why you're being weirdly nice to me, but I swear that I'm much calmer now," she assures him, shaking her head again. "My magic is calm, and my head is clear enough for me to realize that Connor and Dana are just jealous and immature, and the only way for them to find joy in their pathetic lives is through trying to humiliate other people who are clearly better than them."

Kaleb falters, his lips parting, but Lizzie cracks a smile before he can say anything. He rolls his eyes as she laughs. 

"Yeah, 'cause that totally convinced me you aren't gonna go off and put some witchy curse on them," he says, then pauses again, his head tilting. "Not that I'm saying that's a bad idea."

"It's a terrible idea and would get me in even more trouble with my dad than I already am," Lizzie replies, a little more serious now, though her smile lingers at the corners of her mouth. "But I appreciate your encouragement. At least someone's on my side. I was beginning to think that it was turn against Lizzie Saltzman for no reason day."

"Josie's still mad at you, huh?" he asks, and she nods. "What's that about anyway? Thought you two had some twin thing."

Lizzie scoffs, glancing off to the side as she nods. "Meant to, but then again, she did try to set me on fire when we were five, so I'm not so sure about that. But she thinks I've betrayed her somehow, and maybe I wasn't being the best twin, but I thought she'd come around."

Kaleb raises his eyebrows a little. He admittedly knows some of the details about what happened already from MG. Apparently Josie forgave him for everything that went down with Penelope and now they're back to her going to him when she needs a break from Lizzie. Which seems to be a lot more recently. But it's none of his business and he's mostly been tuning out any of the drama between them.

Lizzie then sighs. "But I don't want to talk about it. I don't need to start spiralling all over again."

Kaleb nods in understanding and lets it drop. He motions his head behind him instead, the corners of his mouth curving up. 

"You wanna head out then? We sorta just abandoned MG with all that graffiti."

"The only way that I am going back out there and finishing this stupid punishment is if we get milkshakes first," she says, making his eyebrows raise. "Having one thrown at you kind of makes you want one. But not strawberry."

"Alright then," he says, nodding again. "Milkshakes. Promised Damon I'd buy something anyway on the way out, so."

"I might be able to get us them for free," Lizzie says, her ghost of a smile twisting into a smirk. "Damon's like my mom's brother-in-law or something, and he used to be my dad's best friend, so he's basically my uncle or whatever. He loves me and Josie even if denies it."

Kaleb grins right back and straightens up, spreading an arm out in gesture for her to pass by him. "Work your magic then, Saltzman."

"Witch joke, real funny," she says wryly, but he can see the amusement in her expression.

She goes to walk past him but stops after a step, hesitating. There's something about the way she looks at him, a calculating, thoughtful expression on her face. His brow furrows a little in confusion and he's about to ask her what's wrong, half-expecting her to have changed her mind or realized that it's still obvious she's been crying and wants to do another spell to fix that as well.

Then, softly, she says, "Thank you."

"Uh...no problem," he says uncertainly. "What are allies who kill monsters together to save their school for, right?"

Lizzie snorts, rolling her eyes, and she's beautiful. Something shifts in her eyes when she glances back at him. Then she leans in, and he freezes like a damn statue as she presses her lips to his cheek in a soft kiss. His heart throws itself for a loop and he can't complete a single coherent train of thought, because _what the hell?_

She pulls back enough to meet his wide-eyed, utterly puzzled and questioning gaze. That small, soft smile curls its way back onto her lips, looking just as innocent as it does sly and mischievous.

"If you want, the next one could be somewhere else," she says, raising a shoulder in a playful little shrug, batting her lashes like he doesn't know this game. She then throws a quick glance around them, her act slipping for a second to make a face. "And by that, I don't just mean in the staff bathroom of a _bar_."

Kaleb's grin is slow to form, pulling his mouth up by the corners. He bites down on his bottom lip as he huffs out a chuckle, shaking his head. His heart's pounding away against his ribs, and he's glad now that Lizzie isn't a vampire. She loves making people nervous, and that's a dangerous thing to mix with heightened hearing.

"Gotta say, I'm surprised," he says as she meets his gaze again, looking curious now. "Didn't think you liked me all that much."

"I don't like anyone, don't take that personally," she says with ease, brushing it off, and he knows she's being sincere. 

He never really has thought it was personal, and honestly, he kind of liked it anyway. 

"But..." she shrugs, taking one more step closer, her eyes flicking down then back up to meet his, "...you're actually kinda cool, to be honest. A lot better than half the people at the school, and especially in this hellhole of a town. And I'm not just saying all of this because you were some charming knight or whatever, because I don't do the whole damsel in distress in need of saving thing."

"Oh, I know," Kaleb says, smiling. 

Lizzie pauses, her lips parting. She quickly blinks, shaking her head. 

"My point is—" She reaches out, her hand brushing along his arm. He glances down at it, feeling his skin react to it, lifting his eyes back to her with far too much curiosity as she tilts her head, holding his gaze. "—I've actually thought you were cool for a while, and maybe...it could be good to spend more time together. When I'm not on the verge of having a breakdown and sobbing like a total trainwreck, of course."

Kaleb smiles. She almost looks nervous now, he notices, maybe because he's closer than he's been before. Enough to see the tiniest smudge of makeup under her eyes, and that they're an even more piercing shade of blue with little dots of grey like storm clouds rolling through them. 

She's watching him, waiting. More uncertain of herself than he's used to, but then again, he supposes that's to be expected after everything that's been going on with her lately. It would be easy to be so doubtful.

He shakes his head. "You never cease to surprise me."

"Is that a good thing?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. 

"Definitely," he says, then sighs, his smile widening a little. "I'll admit, spending more time with you would...be nice. And I don't mind whatever state you're in when we do; if you want me around while you're sad, or feel like cursing things, or whatever, I'll be there. Trust me, I don't mind."

Lizzie's surprise appears all over her face, blinking as she pulls back the tiniest bit. Something flickers in her eyes like a little bolt of lightning. Intrigue, confusion. Either way, he's pretty sure it's a good thing.

"Oh," she says slowly, soft, quiet. "Okay. Uh...well then. I guess we should go. Right?"

Kaleb nods, and she relaxes a little, her smile returning.

"Unless we want Damon to kick us out without those milkshakes or have someone realize that MG's doing those windows alone? Yeah."

Lizzie nods back, and after a beat passes, she moves. Stepping back and walking back out the way they came. They do collect their milkshakes on the way despite Damon trying to protest that this is a bar like he wasn't forced to start selling things other than alcohol because it was the nearest place to Mystic Falls High at lunch time. Kaleb catches the relief in his smile when Lizzie throws a joking insult at him. They thankfully don't run into Connor again.


End file.
